Investment Q&A

Q: Hi, I’am retired,(65) looking for a global dividend ETF . I have no U.S. or International exposure no bonds, only Canadian stock, so thinking to spread out a little. Do you have a go to all in one etf that pays 2%+ while you wait ( 6-8) years+.
I was looking at XDG ,good mer, good div. 3.4%, global holdings 56% U.S. etc. But not sure if it’s a good long term hold?
Would like your opinion on an etf that you like
Thanks

Q: Hello,

Can I get a couple of your recommendations for the best balanced growth ETF and/or mutual fund as well as a pure growth recommendation. Sector & Geographic allocation not a huge concern.

Thanks.

Q: What ETF would you suggest for a non-registered account for a higher risk tolerance with emphasis on growth and a 10 year minimum timeline ? VGRO/XGRO sound good but the dividend yields seem low to really take advantage of the dividend tax credit.

Q: Hello,
I have some holdings in the Sun Life Granite Balanced Growth Portfolio class F as a "steady" fund for a blend of growth and safety. Thoughts on this fund please and any funds in your view that could be better in the space.

Thanks.

Q: Can you please recommend a couple of ETFs for an RESP with a six year time frame? Thank you!

Q: Could you please recommend a low cost etf for an resp for 3 or 4 years to introduce someone safely to markets. For example a dividend growth, tsx or your ideas. What are the cost for the etfs? Thank you for your assistance.

Q: First I have to say thank you! My RRIF and TFSA are certainly healthier due to info gained from 5i over the past couple of years.
My questions pertain to my Rif where I have recently inherited 2 mutual funds; Dynamic 1560 Strategic Yield Fund and Dynamic 031 Global Dividend Fund (mers 2.15-2.23%). The remainder of the Rif is comprised of Canadian stocks; old TSX 60 stalwarts and/or stocks from your income or balanced portfolios. The Dynamic funds each account for approximately 20% of the total Rif and around 13% of total investments.
Questions
1. Are there better ETFs/Funds you would suggest for exposure to US and global markets?
2. What is a reasonable weight for an individual ETF/fund within a portfolio?
3. What is a reasonable percent of one's portfolio to allocate to US markets? and to global markets?
TIA
(Good to see Peter on BNN yesterday.)

Q: My 40-year-old daughter has $42K in her RRSPs with Scotia Bank. Her advisor put her in two funds. BSN378 and BSN385. One is 45% invested in basically bonds and 40 Canadian stocks. The other is 12.3 % cash and 47 Canadian stocks. The exception is 2% invested in Microsoft. I assume there is a lot of duplication between the two funds investing in the same Canadian Companies. The MER is close to 2%. Apart from this being a travesty - I would like to move her into a self administered RRSP with a mix of a balanced ETF and three other stocks. She is regularly adding more money. She won't be withdrawing money from this account for at least 25 years.

Would you kindly suggest a suitable balanced ETF.

The three stocks I would suggest for a long term hold would be BAM, SHOP and ENB. Could I have your opinion or options please. Deduct as many questions as you see fit.

THANK YOU!
Bryan

Q: My wife has 75% of her portfolio in laddered GICs and I am looking for a one-stop solution for the remaining 25%. Would XTR be a reasonable substitute for any of the major balanced ETFs such as VBAL, XBAL, ZBAL, or HBAL or would you recommend one of the latter? XTR pays a significantly higher dividend and appears to possess a similar structure, although not quite as globally diversified on the equity side. Your opinion please. Thanks.

Q: Please give an updated opinion on these four balanced ETFs for a retired, conservative investor and indicate order of preference for income and safety. Thanks!

Q: I am helping my niece set up with ETF. She is holding the below funds right now. Can you please advise their fees and which ETF would you suggest replacing them with? Is there a site where you can check the mutual fund fees and performance?

PH&N LifeTime 2045 Fund
RBC Canadian Equity Fund
RBC Balanced Fund
BLK Balanced Index
Capital Global Equity
BLK US Equity Index

Thanks for your help
Hector

Q: Is ZZZD a good long term hold for a dividend ETF, or is there a better choice?

Q: I have parked cash on PSA, I was wondering, if a better choice is to place it in one of IWO , VYMI, XBAL; the goal is to leave it there for a few years, and to help growth the account.
Thanks

Q: Hi,
Thank you for your straight forward answer to Paul's question to-day. (September 01) I presume that even though you mentioned XBAL as your pick, you wouldn't mind including VBAL/ZBAL in that space. Very similar aren't they?
IF one wants to augment this, to get steady stream of dividend income, should one add higher dividend paying ETFs like DGRC or VDY or XDV etc., More to keen to know your thoughts about enhanced indexing. How should one go about it?
Thanks.

Q: Which Mutual fund(s) or ETF(s) would you recommend for a conservative retiree looking for dividend yield in the 3.5%-5% range? She would be drawing down the account on a monthly basis for the next 20 years or so.

Thank You

Q: Good morning,
I own a small house in Ottawa that is free and clear with a current market value of approximately $350,000.
A recent discussion with my trusted mortgage broker confirmed that a 5 year term (Closed & Fixed) term mortgage can be obtained at a rate of 2.29%. This mortgage is said to be:
a. insured through CMHC,
b. portable, and
c. transferable.
At that rate of 2.29% and given that the interest paid would be tax deductible if I use the funds for investment purposes, I'm seriously considering borrowing around $200,000 and investing this amount for an initial 5 year period with an expected net rate of return on investment of 4.5% .
Q1. With $200,000, what are your thoughts of splitting this amount in 5 different chunks of $40K in the following instruments:
a. Mawer Tax Effective Balanced Fund,
b. Mawer Global Balanced ETF Fund,
c. Vanguard Balanced ETF Portfolio,
d. IShares Core Balanced ETF Portfolio, and
e. BMO Balanced ETF

Q2. As an alternative to the above and given the 5 year time frame, would your preference be to invest the $200,000 in a selection of best in class individual stocks split between different sectors and if so, would you be so kind as to provide me with ya listing of your best ideas at this time.

I thank you and look forward to hearing your thoughts on both of these investment strategies.
Francesco

Q: I sold some VBAL:CA at a loss to realize some tax losses and would like to repurchase this ETF at a lower entry point. Can I purchase a comparable ETF from another company like XBAL prior to 30 days, or would that be considered a superficial loss for tax purposes? Similarly, would purchasing a different asset mix product from the same company e.g. VGRO:CA or VCNS:CA be considered a superficial loss?

Q: Is there any merit to owning PID if you have XBAL?Having difficult time seeing if there is an overlap. Thanks

Q: Looking to simplify my life going with either XBAL or VBAL. They seem very comparable with slight differences regarding how much Canadian content.I also have the following ETF's .. QQQ,XQQ,SPY ,IWO ,XHC and ZAG. Could one still retain these or am I doubling down when really XBAL or VBAL will cover most of the stocks in these ETF's. Are there any that could be sold eg ZAG I don't mind having a bit extra in tech though.Thanks for your sound advice in these crazy times.

Q: Re article in today’s National Post re ETF of ETF’s, no ticker symbols were included. Can you provide same and indicate your opinion on general suitability and if favourable your choice?
Thank you for considering my question